In Rancho Cucamonga, Omaha Jack's Grillhouse & Brewery has an offering called "Hay Bale Pale Ale." This is to be expected for a BrewPub trying bring a little bit of Bugahaw to the Cali rubes. I'm confident it doesn't taste like baled hay.

I've been a big fan of the Anchor Brewing Co. I love Anchor Steam and Liberty Ale beer. So, when I saw the Anchor Summer on tap at the Flying Saucer--at happy hour prices-- I was eager to try it.

Beer Advocate has Anchor Summer as a B- overall, but I could only find two reviewers who tried it from the tap. After a tour of the Anchor Brewing Co. JDV said, "there was a flavor in this that once I picked up, I couldn't really enjoy it any more." Yea, I also picked up that "flavor" and couldn't enjoy it anymore, because I've never really enjoyed munching on bales of hay.

Just to make sure, Bull tried it and corroborated the distinctive hay character. I asked Matt G., the manager on duty, if the beer was supposed to taste like baled hay. He sampled the tap and declared that it was not spoiled beer. Matt also offered to bring me a different beer. (The Flying Saucer is all about making the customer happy.) I declined. If that was the way it was supposed to taste, I wasn't going to make them eat the cost.

I usually like to try a beer twice before I declare it undrinkable, but I'm making an exception for Anchor Summer.